Recap: Wizards 85, Heat 83

The Washington Wizards (3-0) remained perfect through their first three games at the Samsung NBA Summer League 2014 with their triumph over the Miami Heat (1-2) Tuesday evening at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center. Washington jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead just 17 seconds into the contest off a layup by Otto Porter and never looked back en route to the 85-83 decision.

After taking that initial lead, Porter, Glen Rice Jr., Khem Birch and Daniel Orton combined to score 26 more points against six from Miami to stake Washington to a 22-point cushion at 28-6. Rice Jr. led the quartet with 12 in this run that spanned the majority of the opening period. Birch and Porter had five points apiece, while Orton had four of his own.

Rice Jr., who led all scorers with 24 points in the game, owned the first quarter with 16 points behind a 6-for-7 showing from the field.

Washington maintained a comfortable double-digit lead until the waning moments of the third quarter when Danilo Barthel sank two free throws to pull Miami within eight — 68-60 — after 30 minutes of play.

With two minutes left to play, the Heat pulled within four points — 82-78 — on a dunk by Tyler Johnson.

There were two occasions when the contest was as close as one possession with 11 seconds or less remaining in regulation. Tyler Honeycutt sank a free throw to cut the deficit to three points, but the Wizards’ Jamil Wilson countered that make with one of his own to push the lead back to four.

With six seconds on the clock, James Nunnally sank a 20-foot jumper to pull Miami within two at 85-83. The Heat pressed Washington following the basket and subsequently forced Porter to make a turnover on a bad inbounds pass. Bathel corralled the miscue and dished over to Shabazz Napier who was open on the left elbow. Unfortunately, Napier’s potential game-winning 3-point attempt didn’t have enough distance and floated out of bounds.

Besides Rice Jr.’s game-high point total, the Wizards also got double figures from Porter and Wilson, who had 19 and 10, respectively. Birch accounted for 11 of the team’s 47 rebounds.

Miami’s offense was paced by 22 points from Nunnally, who sank four 3-pointers and was 7-of-9 from the field. Honeycutt had 11 points to go along with 12 rebounds — 10 of which came on the defensive end — for the game’s only double-double. Johnson rounded out the trio with 17 points.